As Australia closes in on 80 per cent double dose COVID-19 vaccination and reopens from the pandemic, international border restrictions are tumbling away and the welcome mat is open, for now, only to those across the Tasman.
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Quarantine-free travel from all of New Zealand to Australia has been cleared to resume on Monday. The one-way travel opening is for people fully vaccinated with a TGA approved or recognised vaccine and for those with proof of a negative pre-departure PCR test.
It is set to restart a tourism income stream which was worth $1.6 billion to Australia in 2019.
Tourism Minister Dan Tehan welcomed the one way bubble and pointed to more to come.
"This is another important step in our opening up of the Australian border," he said on Sunday.
"Obviously, we will be looking for news in the coming days with regards to Singapore. We've had that under active consideration.
"We're welcoming New Zealand tourists, family and friends back into Australia, and when it comes to Victoria and New South Wales, it will be quarantine free. But for Australians travelling to New Zealand, they'll have to abide by the restrictions that the NZ Government have in place, and that still requires quarantine."
It comes as Australia resumes quarantine-free international travel on November 1 for the first time since March last year. The ban on exiting the country without an official exemption is to be withdrawn, while fully vaccinated, COVID-negative Australians are set to start returning home.
From Monday, quarantine requirements will no longer apply to fully vaccinated international travellers, as NSW, Victoria and the ACT relax rules surrounding inbound and outbound movement.
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Australians will be allowed to leave and return from holidays or go on overseas work trip without having to undergo 14-day isolation.
"This is wonderful news for Australians because Australians love to travel," Mr Tehan said.
"And it's also wonderful news because as we reopen the border, those 660,000 jobs that our tourism sector employ, obviously we will see those numbers grow back and we'll see dollars in pockets."
In pre-COVID times, New Zealand was Australia's second largest tourism market, with more than 1.4 million visitors in 2019.
More than 77 per cent of Australians are now fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, but in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, more than 80 per cent of people eligible have received two doses, a condition for the resumption of international travel.
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Karen Barlow
Karen Barlow is ACM's Chief Political Correspondent. Working in the federal press gallery, she investigates and writes about federal politics and government. She has an interest in integrity, leadership and social equity. She has covered two Olympics and been to Antarctica twice. Contact her on karen.barlow@canberratimes.com.au
Karen Barlow is ACM's Chief Political Correspondent. Working in the federal press gallery, she investigates and writes about federal politics and government. She has an interest in integrity, leadership and social equity. She has covered two Olympics and been to Antarctica twice. Contact her on karen.barlow@canberratimes.com.au
